BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

DO THOSE SHEEP SKIN SEAT COVERS WORK? A GOOD HELP ON A LONG DISTANCE TRIP? NO ONE DOWN SOUTH USES EM-- BUT MY BONY ASS GETS SORE AFTER 250 MILES IN THE R12 SADDLE. FACT IS-- THAT SEAT ON THE R1200R IS WORSE THAN ANY SEAT I EVER HAD ON MY HARLEYS EITHER CHOPPED OR STOCK....... BUT IF PAIN IS THE PRICE I PAY FOR OWNIN THE JET BLACK R1200R THEN I WILL ACCEPT THAT-- PAIN IN THE ASS. BTW-- ITS THE HOLLOW AXLES THAT FREAK OUT MY HARLEY CROWD.... AMUSES ME.....

I use one, and frankly, it helps - for a while. But (just my .02 cents, of course), the stock seat is so bad that after 200 miles - with the sheepskin in place - my arse is screaming for relief.

I recently bought a lightly used stock R12R seat, my intention is to send it to Sargents to get a custom seat built.

BTW, Note that I live in NC.. far from Yankeeland..

MikeCam wrote:Put more weight on your feet and carry your balance through your thighs. If your butt and arms are carrying weight no seat pad will fix your poor posture related problems.

That's a really interesting suggestion. With the upright seating position of the R12R, I'm having trouble visualizing how one would do this.. please elucidate..

Get a Rick Myers leather sear and after 200 miles your arse will still be happy and it will smell like leather.

Dan,

I tried to whisper so you wouldn't notice!

There is a theory of riding posture, to which I subscribe, that is eloquently reasoned by a guy nick-named Master Yoda on one of the other boards. I think his real name is dingle Frantz and he may have passed away by now. Searching for "Master Yoda's Riding Position" yields links to the original written piece and several internet discussions.

In short, if your posture is inappropriate, your sense of the bike's ergonomics is wrong and chasing comfort via aftermarket mods is doomed to remain unsatisfactory. Probably not true across the entire range of bikes from cruisers to sport bikes nor the entire range of riders but a worthwhile point of view nonetheless.

What I recommend to most folks I know is to ride the bike for 6 months/6000 miles while concentrating on good posture using the large muscles of the leg and trunk while intentionally keeping weight off the butt and arms/wrist/hands. (dingle compares it to cowboys' and jockeys' riding styles versus buggy riders.) There are still points of contact, mind you, just not weight bearing POC.



Still, some seats suck (I hate wide soft ones the most) and some bar angles are just not right for my shoulder width or sleeve length.

YEA --IM A TARHEEL TOO.

MikeCam wrote:Dan,
I tried to whisper so you wouldn't notice!

It's Don.. and we're sorta used to Wildpig yelling, he used to ride HDs..

There is a theory of riding posture, to which I subscribe, that is eloquently reasoned by a guy nick-named Master Yoda on one of the other boards. I think his real name is ---- Frantz and he may have passed away by now. Searching for "Master Yoda's Riding Position" yields links to the original written piece and several internet discussions.

Ya mean: http://www.bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthrea ... 57&fpart=1 - I've read it before. The R12R isn't quite the same ergos as the K1200S they're talking about, more upright seating position. I do tend to ride on my legs - often popping off the seat to avoid being jarred by NJ's gawdawful frost-heave-truck-induced-tar strips (which are worse than most speed bumps... sharper and taller.) And I've been hugging the tank ever since my dirty bike days 3.5 decades ago.. but I probably am bending wrong, I'll have to look at that on the way home.

In short, if your posture is inappropriate, your sense of the bike's ergonomics is wrong and chasing comfort via aftermarket mods is doomed to remain unsatisfactory. Probably not true across the entire range of bikes from cruisers to sport bikes nor the entire range of riders but a worthwhile point of view nonetheless.

What I recommend to most folks I know is to ride the bike for 6 months/6000 miles while concentrating on good posture using the large muscles of the leg and trunk while intentionally keeping weight off the butt and arms/wrist/hands. (---- compares it to cowboys' and jockeys' riding styles versus buggy riders.) There are still points of contact, mind you, just not weight bearing POC.

Still, some seats suck (I hate wide soft ones the most) and some bar angles are just not right for my shoulder width or sleeve length.

Yup. Posture can only do so much. No way posture could have made the original K100 seats comfortable.. Instrument of the devil I tell'ya..

My 2 cents: I found that if I strap my camping gear across the passenger seat (giving support to my lower back, and forcing me to sit up straight) and doing an isometric exercise like raising my butt off the seat about two inches and holding it for a five count (twelve reps) every hundred miles or so I can endure the stock seat for well over 800 miles with an occasional 1,000 miler. Not an exceptionally comfortable ride but then again it's a motorcycle not a Lazy-Boy.

What can be another big factor is ergos. If the peg/seat relationship puts the knees too high, then all the weight on your seat is on the sit bones (not good for my bony butt). With the knees down a ways (via taller seat or lowered pegs) then the thighs take the weight, too. I had one bike that give me grief until I dropped the pegs; then I could ride all day.

While I certainly agree that good posture is important for proper control, the saddles from BMW are notoriously uncomfortable. Most experienced BMW riders turn to the aftermarket. I recommend Bill Mayer, whose father started the whole saddle industry back in the 1960s. Rick Mayer is also part of the dynasty and Russell Day Long saddles are still favored by many. There are several other good saddle makers too. Any of these should solve your problem. BTW, definitely choose leather over vinyl for your saddle.

Bill

Bill Stevenson wrote:BTW, definitely choose leather over vinyl for your saddle.

Really? I can't imagine how leather will last for very long on a motorcycle out in the environment.

NeilS wrote:

Bill Stevenson wrote:BTW, definitely choose leather over vinyl for your saddle.

Really? I can't imagine how leather will last for very long on a motorcycle out in the environment.

I've had both. The Russell seat I had made for my K100RT was leather.. it is about 15 years old now, still around, still being used, with very little care. Russell did make a "shower cap" for it to protect the leather in rain, but I kept that when I sold the bike, so it's survived without any protection for the past 8 years or so.

That said - unless you're riding naked, I doubt if you can tell the difference sitting on a bike. I have at least 3 layers of fabric between me and the seat (probably more considering the Aerostich Roadcrafter has an outer shell, the Goretex layer and the inner lining), so I doubt if I'd be able to tell the difference. Leather does look nice, but some of the newer vinyls also look nice (I like the "carbon-fiber" pattern ones..)

Case of YMMV and what you like I think..

I have leather saddles and vinyl saddles. Don's point has some merit if you ride mostly wearing an Aerostitch or something the saddle material probably wouldn't matter in terms of feel. But for those of us who wear jeans most of the time, leather is far more comfortable because it breathes. No sweaty crotch with leather even here in South Florida. With leather pants a leather saddle works considerably better. In terms of durability, a properly cared for leather saddle will outlast vinyl. Bill Mayer provides a bottle of leather treatment with each new saddle. I put this stuff on about once a month and one bottle lasts a couple of years. At my local BMW dealer they have a 1960 R60 (I think) on display with the original leather saddle on it that is in very good shape and I have seen much older bikes with leather saddles too. I have several bicycles from my racing days in the 1970s that still look and feel quite good and believe me a racing bicycle saddle takes a lot more abuse than most motorcycles ever are exposed to.

Trust me on this, leather is worth having.

Bill

The interface between my leather Rick Meyer seat and my leather riding pants is very nice.Vinyl doesn't compare favorably to me.
Mark